Saturday, September 7, 2019

More from the Long Weekend

Back to the Labour Day long weekend ...

After our delicious low-country boil on Friday, we got a good sleep, as we had plans to go out on Saturday night.

Dinner on Saturday evening was at Ru downtown.


We shared shrimp to start, and then I had bee bim bop, and Christopher had a poke bowl.  Both were really good.


After dinner, we walked across the street to the Victoria's Tavern parking lot, where there was a Pre-Labour Day bash with a bunch of local rappers and DJs.

We absolutely LOVED Hoodoo, and can't wait to see them again.  They are a band that mixes hip hop with funk!  There is so much incredible music talent in this city.


Christopher had heard this band quite a bit on the radio and was super excited to see them, and now I understand why.

Then came the headliner, and the reason we bought tickets for this event to begin with.  Def3 is an awesome rapper, who also happened to go to our high school.


This was totally my kind of night out, and one of the best nights on the town I can remember in a long time.

We got home close to midnight and ordered a pizza:

Dominos - NY pepperoni, extra green olives, mushrooms, jalapenos, cheddar, and mozza.
All of Sunday was spent outside.  We roasted hotdogs and marshmallows:


I tried Aero bar in a s'more because I kept seeing ads for this on the internet.  It wasn't that great, as the chocolate didn't melt.

On the holiday Monday we snacked on baked brie:

Sundried tomatoes, thyme, drizzle of olive oil.
And tried Mexican street corn with our jalapeno jack burgers:


What are you up to this weekend?  Have you ever had Mexican street corn? (It's the only corn on the cob I want from now on - soooooo good.)

Tuesday, September 3, 2019

Low-Country Boil & Belated 10 Year Blog Birthday!

The Labour Day long weekend was so, so wonderful!  We had been looking forward to this weekend for a while and had a few fun things planned, starting with a low-country boil.


Since all the ingredients just get thrown into a pot and cook together, there really isn't much for prep work.  We were able to kick back and relax while dinner cooked, and then we enjoyed it outside.


We filled our Dutch oven pot about 3/4 full with water (max.), then added approximately 1 T of cajun spice, 1 T of Old Bay, 3 bay leaves, 1 T peppercorns, 1 T kosher salt, 3 T butter, the juice of 1 lemon, and then we tossed the rest of the lemon in there too, and 1 small onion (all approximate, as we eyeballed it).

After bringing all of that to a boil, we let it simmer and reduce for a few minutes.  Then we added baby potatoes and cooked those for a while.  The corn went in next, then Andouille sausage, and finally the crab legs and shrimp.


Once the shrimp were done we scooped everything out onto some packing paper and dug in.  We had Old Bay on the table, as well as some hot sauce, horseradish, and cocktail sauce, although everything was so flavourful we didn't really need to add any more seasoning.


This was an easy dinner that we will be making again very soon!


After dinner, I slipped inside to ice the cake that I had made after work.  It was a belated-birthday cake to celebrate 10 years of Everyday Foodie, which was actually four weeks ago today (but we were camping then).


I cannot believe I have been blogging for over 10 years, back when it was very strange to take pictures of one's food, and Instagram was years from being created.  I was always so shy about taking pictures of my food in restaurants and tried to sneakily do so while getting funny looks, and usually a blurry photo.

This blog has been a fun, creative outlet for me over the years, and I hope it continues to be so for the years to come.

Friday night was the start of one of the best weekends I've had in a while!  After our crab boil, we sat outside for the rest of the evening and enjoyed the beautiful weather.


How was your long weekend?  
Have you ever done a low-country boil?

Monday, September 2, 2019

Hurom Easy Clean Slow Juicer

School is starting up tomorrow, summer is coming to an end, and cooler temperatures are on the way.  I always try to increase my fruit and veggie intake in the Fall, both to keep me energized as I go back to work, and to add extra vitamins to my diet, with hopes of warding off the germs during the upcoming cold and flu season.  One way that I increase my fruit and veggie intake is through juicing.

I have always enjoyed juicing, however, my biggest complaint with it in the past has been how much food seemed to go to waste with a large pulp output, and how much liquid was always still left in the pulp.  Every time I juiced I would comment on how wet the pulp was, and it seemed that so much of our organic fruits and veggies were getting tossed out.  When I had the opportunity to choose a new juicer, the Hurom Easy Clean Slow Juicer caught my eye right away.


This juicer rotates at just 43 revolutions per minute, so it mimics the motion of hand squeezing the fruits and veggies.  There are different strainers that fit easily into the juicer, so the amount of pulp and the consistency can be controlled depending on the ingredients used, and your preference.


Whenever I get a new appliance I like to use it a few times within a couple days, to really get the hang of it, and to feel comfortable and familiar with the parts.  I was instantly impressed with how quiet this juicer is; it makes a really pleasant squeezing sound, and it was neat to watch the juice filling up the chamber.


Our first juice was a bright mixture of orange bell pepper, carrot, grapefruit, and apples from our friends' tree.


We discarded the seeds and chopped everything into chunks before placing them into the juicer.   I was pleased to see that there was much less pulp with this juicer than our old one and that it was bone dry, meaning more of the fiber and nutrients ended up in our glasses.


The clean up is a breeze.  The pieces fit together and come apart really easily, and just need a quick rinse with hot water.  There are no sharp parts and no fine metal filter to clean, which was a nice surprise, as my old metal filter always needed a vigorous scrubbing.


We will definitely get more use out of this juicer than our last, because of the ease of clean up and lack of waste.  If the juicer needs a deeper clean there is a little brush that comes with it, although I don't think this would be needed every time.  It came really clean with a simple hot rinse.


Fresh, cold-pressed juice - the perfect beverage while enjoying a beautiful day on the deck:


As an added bonus, I had never heard of a juicer that could make ice-cream until trying it out with this Hurom juicer.  There is an ice-cream strainer that just slides right into the chamber, and then the ice-cream is extracted from the pulp outlet.


I used six frozen cherries and half a frozen banana for a single serving of all-natural, organic, healthy ice-cream:


Other juice combinations we tried included a cleansing juice with cucumber, apple, and celery:


And lycopene-rich, red juice with strawberries, bell pepper, and apple:


For those who aren't sure what to juice, the Hurom Easy Clean Slow Juicer comes with some recipe ideas.


The Hurom Easy Clean Slow Juicer can also be used to make nut milk, which I am interested in, as the store-bought stuff often contains ingredients I'd rather not consume.

Click the link to shop from the entire selection of Hurom Juicers, or read more about the Easy Clean Slow Juicer here.

Do you ever juice?  What is your favourite juice combination?
When you get a new appliance, do you like to use it a few times right away to get comfortable with it?  What appliance gets the most use in your house?  

Full Disclosure:  The Hurom Easy Clean Slow Juicer was provided to me free of charge.  All opinions are my own.

Saturday, August 31, 2019

Last Week of Holidays & Udon Noodle Recipe

I went back to work on Monday, which went well.  It doesn't take long to get back into the swing of things, and I feel prepared and excited for the new school year. 

Buuuuuut the week before I made the most of my last week of holidays.  I spent plenty of time outside and went for a walk around the lake each day.


One day I met up with my sister and nephew for lunch at Roots.


This was our first time visiting this restaurant, and we were impressed with the food.  The menu was big and had many things that sounded good, so I am sure we'll be back.  I want to try their breakfast next time.

Giovanni had the spicy shrimp tacos and thought they were great, and my sweet potato fries were perfect.


We stopped for a coffee at Perk & Taps after lunch.


Another day I met up with Christopher for lunch at Western Pizza.


In the afternoons I usually sat outside with iced tea, Spitz, and a book.


We BBQd bison sausage with mushrooms and potato one evening:


The leftovers were good for breakfast the next day:


I am feeling non-traditional breakfasts lately.

Another evening we had Korean chicken with halloumi stuffed bell pepper:


On cooler evenings we ate beetnicks and beet risotto:


On the Friday night we had Chinese food at Christopher's parents' house:


Then we went back there the next day for an early birthday celebration for our niece Charlotte.


Last Sunday I had my friend Fanta's baby shower which was fun!

Later in the day, we started to get some food ready for the week.  We made coconut braised chickpeas with spinach and roasted sweet potatoes for my breakfasts:

Enough for a few days, and SO filling.
And Udon pork noodles for our lunches:


Udon Pork Noodles

Ingredients:

- 1-2 T sesame oil
- 3 T ginger, minced (or more to taste)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (or more to taste)
- 1 pkg. ground pork (about 1 lb.)
- 2-3 cups bok choy, thinly sliced
- 4 packages udon noodles
- sriracha to serve

Sauce:

- 4 T soy sauce
- 4 T sesame oil
- 4 T brown sugar
- 2 T oyster sauce
- 2 T sake or white cooking wine
- pepper to taste
- 2 T cornstarch dissolved in about 1/4 cup cold water

Heat sesame oil in a wok over medium.  Add half of the garlic and ginger, and cook for a minute.  Add the pork, and cook until done.  Drain some fat if it's fatty.  Add the bok choy, and rest of the garlic and ginger, and cook for a few minutes. 

 * Meanwhile, mix up the sauce, combining everything except the cornstarch slurry. 

Add the sauce and noodles to the wok, separating the noodles with your hands as you add them.  Stir and cook a few minutes, until the noodles are softened.  Add the slurry, and cook another couple minutes.  Serve with loads of sriracha.  Reheats really well.

How was your week?  
What are you up to this Labour Day long weekend?

We're going out on the town tonight!